Building Brighter Futures: Empowering Adolescent Girls Through Livelihood Skills
UNICEF helps young girls and boys gain income-generating skills in Sindh, Pakistan.
Khairpur District, Sindh: Ayatul Naz (19) is cheerfully engrossed in mixing flour, eggs, milk, and other ingredients to create a batter for a tea cake. Once finished, her trainer, Paru Mahdi, instructs her to pour the batter into a cake pan and place it in the microwave oven.
A young chef in the making, Ayatul is determined to become the first female entrepreneur in the confectionery industry in her village. She is one of 17 adolescent girls currently receiving training in baking and pastry-making at the Non-Formal Education Centre, in Paro Khan Patho village, Khairpur district, Sindh province, Pakistan.
Paro Khan Patho is a typical rural community surrounded by palm trees and banana plants. All the girls enrolled in the three-month training programme belong to this neighbourhood.
“I chose baking because there is huge potential for this business in our village. There are 300 houses and not a single bakery,” Ayatul explains while putting the pan in the oven.
As the girls wait for the cake to bake, the confident and friendly Ayatul shares her courageous journey, from enrolling in the UNICEF supported Non-Formal Education (NFE) programme to acquiring livelihood skills.
“I was very young when my father passed away and my mother could not afford to send me to school. Growing up, I developed a desire to become a businesswoman but I could neither read nor write. That’s when I realised the importance of education,” she recounts.
“I was fortunate that UNICEF started the Non-Formal Education (NFE) Centre in our village. I joined the primary-level programme in 2019 and have worked hard to reach the middle level,” she says with pride.
After completing the NFE Package E (equivalent to Grade 8) with flying colours, Ayatul joined the Green Skills Training for NFE graduates, launched by UNICEF in partnership with the Hashoo Foundation, in August 2024.
“I enrolled in the skills development training programme in October 2024. I am eager to step into the business world after completing the training,” says Ayatul. “I know it will be tough, as this business is dominated by men but I am determined to establish my own baking and confectionery business which will be the first of its kind in my village.”
Paru Mahdi, a qualified trainer in baking and confectionery from the Hashoo Foundation, is training the group of adolescent girls at the NFE Centre. While the participants are excited to learn quickly, Paru calmly reminds them, “Slow, steady, and patience are the keys to success.”
“Their excitement motivates me to teach them,” says Paru. “I am covering a complete menu, including biscuits, muffins, lava cakes, pastries and many more items.”
“When the items we prepare are ready, I ask the girls to taste them and provide their honest opinions. This way, we can improve with each session.”
In impoverished and remote rural areas, options for livelihoods are often limited. This type of training is a rare opportunity, especially for girls, as it can provide them with a means of earning an income. Many of the girls training at the NFE Centre aspire to start their own baking businesses.
The training course also covers developing a business plan, making connections with the local market and digital marketing and sales.
“Once they successfully complete the course, selected adolescents will receive a kit that includes a microwave oven and other essential materials to help them start their entrepreneurial ventures,” says Paru as she turns off the oven and asks the girls to take out the cake.
The girls are jubilant, celebrating another successful exercise. The tea cake is as delicious as promised, adding a positive new learning experience for them.
Ayatul also serves as the captain of the Adolescent Champions Club (ACC) in her village which consists of adolescents educated through the NFE programme. ACCs have been established by UNICEF in collaboration with its implementing partner, the Indus Resource Centre.
“The purpose of establishing ACCs is to raise awareness in the community about child rights and related issues across health. nutrition, education, climate change, and disaster risk reduction,” says Dr. Zarqa Amber, Youth Champion Officer at the Indus Resource Centre. “The skills development trainings are also provided through ACC centres.”
UNICEF under the Generation Unlimited initiative (a multisectoral platform to foster partnerships for connecting young people to opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and social impact) is implementing the Green Skills Training Programme in partnership with Hashoo Foundation in Khairpur and Ghotki districts of Sindh. The 7% set aside under Generation Unlimited are funds that can be used flexibly for young people wherever and whenever they are needed the most.
More than 170 adolescents are being trained in 19 NFE centres, across 11 different trades, including solar panel installation, mobile repair, hotel management, honeybee farming, baking, and confectionery.
The adolescents are provided with specialised kits relevant to their businesses and connected to the market for employment and entrepreneurship. This creates vital livelihood opportunities for the young people to forge their own pathways.
In 2023, UNICEF signed a Letter of Intent with the Prime Minister Youth Program to promote Public Private Youth Partnership under Generation Unlimited for scaling up work on education, employability, skills and civic engagement.
